How a Young Christian Stood Testimony for God in Spiritual Warfare
By Xinxin, South Korea
My name is Xinxin, and I’m 12 years old this year. When I was very young, I began to believe in the Lord Jesus with my parents. In those days, every Sunday we went to the nearby church to attend worship service.
Afterward, my mother accepted Almighty God’s gospel of the kingdom, and took my younger brother and me to The Church of Almighty God. I felt their movies were pretty good and very attractive to me. So I often watched their movies with my younger brother. Later, I found Almighty God’s words carried power. I understood that God’s words could correct our mistaken actions and change our corrupt disposition only after listening to a few sermons and watching several movies in The Church of Almighty God.
In the past, my classmates and I often teased each other at school, and I was always unhappy. But after I believed in Almighty God, I knew that it’s wrong to tease others; classmates teasing and fighting each other are out of the corrupt dispositions and despised by God; and God requires us to live out the normal humanity and have the likeness of a Christian. From then on, I no longer teased my classmates, and every time I did so, I felt happier than when my mother bought something delicious for me.
However, it was not long before my father saw some rumors online that attacked The Church of Almighty God and began to prevent me from reading God’s words at home and going to The Church of Almighty God. I became very sad. I really liked to go to the church, but I feared my father. I had no idea what to do. I thought and thought, and finally a way that I felt I could do both came to me. Then, I said to my mother, “Mom, from now on I will read God’s words and watch the movies at home. I won’t go to the church. Please don’t tell my dad. Just keep it a secret.”
Hearing my words, my mother showed me this passage from God’s word, “Like all things, man quietly and unknowingly receives the nourishment of the sweetness and rain and dew from God. Like all things, man unknowingly lives under the orchestration of God’s hand. The heart and spirit of man are held in the hand of God, and all the life of man is beheld in the eyes of God. Regardless of whether or not you believe this, any and all things, living or dead, will shift, change, renew, and disappear according to God’s thoughts. This is how God rules over all things.”
Then she said to me, “See, trees grow out green leaves in spring, bloom in summer, fruit in fall, and wither in winter year after year. In the past, we all thought this was a natural law. Now, by reading God’s words, we have known all this is because of God’s sovereignty. Right? All things are in the hands of God and all created beings are within His rule. Your dad is a creature, so he is also controlled by God. Therefore, we should rely on God. As long as we have faith in God, we will see His wondrous deeds. When your dad first listened to the rumors that attacked The Church of Almighty God, he also tried to prevent me from going to the church. I didn’t back down, but instead, I prayed to and relied on God, and fellowshiped the truth to him to refute the lies and expose the deception of Satan. Eventually, I was no longer restrained by him through relying on God. Now he sees he can’t stop me, and then he begins to stop you. If you don’t dare to go to the church because you fear your dad, then you can’t obtain the truth or enter the kingdom. Today this thing came upon you with God’s permission. God wants to give you faith through it. You should know the God we believe in is almighty, and is the one true God who rules over all things. Your dad’s heart and spirit are in God’s hands. We should have faith in God.”
My mother also told me some of her experiences of how she prayed to God and saw God’s wondrous deeds when she encountered difficulty in doing her duty. Hearing her words, I was very encouraged and felt God really had authority, thus having a little more faith in Him. That night, my mother had a talk with my father. On the second morning, she told me that he would wash his hands of her belief and that I could continue going to the church. Hearing what she said, I was very happy and thankful to God.
But, it wasn’t many days before my father again believed some rumors about The Church of Almighty God and told me not to go to the church. I was very worried and thought, “Why does he always believe those rumors? Why does he always oppose our belief in Almighty God? What should I do if he later really stops me?” Later on, my mother read me a passage of God’s words, “In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements, or from human interference. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God. Take when Job was tried, for example: Behind the scenes, Satan was making a bet with God, and what happened to Job was the deeds of men, and the interference of men.”
After reading these words, my mother said to me, “On the surface, what happens to you, it seems as if your dad is preventing you from believing in God, but actually it’s a spiritual war. It is Satan disturbing you and trying to make you lose faith in God, leave, and betray Him. This is Satan’s trick and its goal is to swallow you up. Meanwhile, God tests you to see whether you are a true believer through this thing. When you have the confidence to satisfy God, Satan will just retreat in shame. I once told you the story of Job: First, he was robbed of all his property; after that, his children were taken away; finally, his body became covered with sores. He suffered a lot of pain. What came upon Job was Satan’s temptation, yet he not only didn’t lose his faith in God, but saw through Satan’s tricks and bore witness for God. Finally Satan didn’t dare to disturb Job anymore, and meanwhile, Job received more of God’s blessings. Today you believe in God, but your dad disrupts and hinders you from time to time. God is to see whether you can stand witness for Him. Last time, when your dad hindered you, you feared him and acceded to his request, standing on the side of Satan. This time, we must bear testimony to God.” Hearing her words, I nodded my head and realized I didn’t have faith in God. Then, I secretly resolved that I must bear witness to glorify God like my mother.
That evening, after my father came back, as I massaged him, I nerved myself to say, “Dad, I’m eager to go to The Church of Almighty God. Since I joined the church, I have changed many bad habits. These days I try not to tell lies, and practice being honest according to God’s words. Furthermore, I no longer tease my classmates at school. It is Almighty God’s words that have changed me.” Hearing me say this, he said, “In that case, you can go there.” Hearing his words, I felt very happy that I also could bear witness to God. Through this experience, my faith in God increased. I quietly resolved: No matter what my dad says in the future, I will keep going to the church, and keep reading a page in the books of God’s words every day.
Now, it has been one year since I joined The Church of Almighty God. I feel that believing in Almighty God is really beneficial, because it makes me understand some truths and change many bad habits. In the past, I often lied to my mother. I secretly watched TV at home. When my mother returned, I would quickly turn off the TV. When she asked whether I had watched TV, I answered “no.” But after I believed in Almighty God, I knew God likes honest people. Now when I want to watch TV, I will consult with my mother, and I won’t watch TV without her permission. In the past, as soon as I got home, I would play computer games. Later, my brothers and sisters fellowshiped to me that playing computer games was disliked by God and it was also Satan’s trick to distance us from God. After I learned of this, I seldom play computer games. In the past, I was not sensible, but disobedient to my parents. Now I listen to my mother and actively help her do housework; when my father returns home from work tired, I massage him. In the past, I often bullied my little brother. Now, I help my mother take care of him and no longer scold him. Seeing my transformation, my father no longer opposes my belief in Almighty God. Thank Almighty God!
Source from: find the shepherd.
Read more on our Christian testimony page.
